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northern01
Puppy
Joined: 10 Aug 2008
Posts: 2
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 Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 8:43 pm Post subject: Snapping |
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| The last few days I have exercised my Amstaff fairly heavy well heavier then usual. The weather has also been hot and humid. Today I took her for a good run then went walking around a crowded area with her. She snapped at 3 different people on 3 different occasions and growled at one. She has never done this before and has always been very social. The 3 snaps all occurred with people extending their hands to pet her. Should I be concerned? She was disciplined all 3 times. She has no aggression what so ever towards other dogs and just yesterday played with a 8 lb dog wonderfully. Should I be concerned or could it be she was just tired and grumpy. I know when I got her back into my truck she slept all the way home. She usually never sleeps in the vehicle. She was also very bad on leash pulling allot and she is generally very good on the leash. Perhaps she was picking up on my frustration with her as well. She is 14 months old spayed and graduated 2nd in class 1st year obedience. |
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Amanda Reichelt
Shamans
Joined: 12 May 2008
Posts: 614
Location: Colville, WA (USA)
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| Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:36 am Post subject: |
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| No, snapping at anyone is never okay. First since this is an "all of a sudden" thing (and she has normally been very friendly/social) then get her to the vet right away! (have her checked out completely for anything that might cause aggression). If nothing is found to be wrong with her health wise that would cause aggression, then I would have your dog evaluated by a certified animal behaviorist and if she can't be rehabilited, then she probably should be PTS. |
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Meadowbrooks
Alpha Dog
Joined: 12 Dec 2007
Posts: 1681
Location: va
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| Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:40 am Post subject: Re: Snapping |
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| northern01 wrote: |
| The last few days I have exercised my Amstaff fairly heavy well heavier then usual. The weather has also been hot and humid. Today I took her for a good run then went walking around a crowded area with her. She snapped at 3 different people on 3 different occasions and growled at one. She has never done this before and has always been very social. The 3 snaps all occurred with people extending their hands to pet her. Should I be concerned? She was disciplined all 3 times. She has no aggression what so ever towards other dogs and just yesterday played with a 8 lb dog wonderfully. Should I be concerned or could it be she was just tired and grumpy. I know when I got her back into my truck she slept all the way home. She usually never sleeps in the vehicle. She was also very bad on leash pulling allot and she is generally very good on the leash. Perhaps she was picking up on my frustration with her as well. She is 14 months old spayed and graduated 2nd in class 1st year obedience. |
*beep* Yeah you should be concern!! An amstaff should NEVER try to bite a human.. Please don't compare how she is with dogs and how she is with human.. Two totally different things.. Dog agg to me is a trait or should I say in this breed.. Human agg is a temperament issue.
I am not going to say what I would do but how can you trust this dog ever now.. You will have to worry every time a kid comes around or anyone else. Maybe she was tired or something was going on with her but it is not acceptable in this breed. JMO You know your dog and I don't. Maybe a few others will talk to you about training and so on.. Good luck with her.. |
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shadyblueamstaffs
Alpha Dog
Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 1219
Location: Missouri USA
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| Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:17 am Post subject: |
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Northern,
First off it's extremely hard to give advice over the internet. Without us being there and seeing first hand what is happening, we are only going off what we can picture is happening. A little over a year of age dogs generally go through another fright stage. This could be what is going on.
My recommendation is don't set up your dog to fail. That means you have to really watch your dogs behavior. If it looks like she is going to be social then allow someone to pet her. If someone comes up to pet her and she has her ears back and not wagging her tail, then tell them politely that it's not okay to pet her. Leave her home for a little while to mature. There is alot that can be done from home training.
If it was a show dog or breeding dog then I would say remove them from the gene pool. But since it is your pet you just have to be as careful as possible. This means you cannot leave her in the back yard or ever put her in a situation where she could fail and then bite someone. When dogs bite they don't miss. So I believe she may have been frightened and was warning people to stay away.
At her age I would not resort to anything serious, just leave her home for a little while so she can mature mentally. Be careful with her around others. Take some more obedience classes, maybe even agility both are good for helping a dog build confidence.
If she came from a good breeder, you could contact them and ask if there is any kind of similar behavior that is hiding in the lines they work with.
Good luck and I hope you can work through this time with her. |
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northern01
Puppy
Joined: 10 Aug 2008
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:56 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks your reply is the only one that truly gives some decent advice. The amount of pm's I have received from people telling me to put her down is well scary. I am not prepared to give up on her yet. She is actually a very timid quiet dog. I am in the process of talking to a behavior specialist and will see how that works. From now on if and when we do go into public areas we will put her haltie on her. And give her lots of praise. |
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shadyblueamstaffs
Alpha Dog
Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 1219
Location: Missouri USA
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| Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 12:53 pm Post subject: |
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Also Amanda suggested takeing her to the vet to check to make sure there is nothing physical that is bothering her. This might not be a bad idea. Since you stated she has never acted this way and it started when you started doing more excersize, it is VERY possible she is in some type of pain.
I have had to put a dog to sleep for a bad temperament so I firmly believe in doing so, if it's neccessary, BUT from what you have described I believe since she is your pet you are not to that point yet.
Stay positive. |
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Meadowbrooks
Alpha Dog
Joined: 12 Dec 2007
Posts: 1681
Location: va
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| Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 3:27 pm Post subject: |
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that is why I didn't say anything because it is on the internet and we can't really see what happened and we don't know the dog.. It is easy to jump on someone else and tell them to put the dog down.
Good luck with your dog and I really hope it works out for you. There is hope.. Don't jump the gun.. But Still be very concern. IMO |
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winmor
Omega Dog
Joined: 27 Jul 2008
Posts: 221
Location: Tennessee
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| Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:54 am Post subject: |
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| is your female spayed? and if not how long has it been since she has come into season? |
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jenz0r
Puppy
Joined: 11 Aug 2008
Posts: 98
Location: NSW
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| Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:08 pm Post subject: Re: Snapping |
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| northern01 wrote: |
| The last few days I have exercised my Amstaff fairly heavy well heavier then usual. The weather has also been hot and humid. Today I took her for a good run then went walking around a crowded area with her.. |
maybe the combination of hot/humid weather, heavy exercise and then masses of people was just too much for her. she may have been tired and needed a break.... i know in the past when my dogs have been worn out from exercise they just want to lie down and have a rest!
you should definitely take her to the vet.. maybe the exercise/hot weather hurt her and she reacted badly to the people from pain? |
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senta111
Omega Dog
Joined: 24 Mar 2008
Posts: 100
Location: upstate NY
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| Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 7:33 am Post subject: |
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Hi,
Sometimes their behavior changes as they reach full adulthood. Usually the breed is not agressive toward humans, especially if not provoked.
If the behavior continues and you aren't inclined to put her down, you may have to not put her in situations where she has contact with people or dogs. I've seen some people do that successfully, but it takes a lot of vigilance on the part of the owner.
Regarding a physical, good advice. I had a dog years ago who started snapping at my kids (a small mixed breed), and it turns out her whole body was infested with Cancer and she was in a great deal of pain. Dogs will get very grouchy from chronic pain.
Best, |
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Skylar
Pack Members
Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 343
Location: Everywhere
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| Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 9:51 am Post subject: |
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sometime you'll have to see if it is actually snappy or mouthing..
i had a rescue dog that was actually snappy and i correct her for short while, avoiding getting too close to strangers and praise her heavily when giving no choice of strangers coming toward us out of nowhere and she doesn't do a thing.. i always tell her to "walk on" and she knows not to look up at strangers or sniff at them. And i stopped her from sleeping on my bed or in the same room where i sleep, In the end she had stopped snapped, bark or growl at strangers for no reason for 8years to her death bed.
There is also my friend's dog that do get nippy out of excitement, i hold my hand out and he wasn't biting me but mouthing so it could be either two..
You can use rattler to correct her behaviour.. plastic bottle or can with pebbles inside... best way to detect her behaviour is if you know what she would do next - that's where you start use rattler and shake hard and say "no" at the same time, it help snapped her out of it and then praise her when she became submissive.
I believe dogs can be sorted but there are some cases that dog do get mentally retard.. could be lack of oxgyon or from banging her head or whatever..
There was one German Shepherd that actually bite people and the final straw was when he bit my little sister on the thigh in the street and my mother had been hearing the stories about this dog and the owner who refuse to put him to sleep every time he bite somebody and my mother demand for him to be put to sleep or she would put him to sleep herself 
and we received the report from the police/cop stating that the Vet had found this dog to be mentally retard and was put to sleep straight away. |
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Sagebrush
Omega Dog
Joined: 11 Jan 2008
Posts: 159
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| Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:30 am Post subject: |
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| northern01 wrote: |
| She is actually a very timid quiet dog.. |
Being a quiet, timid dog does not mean she won't be prone to snapping. Quiet, timid dogs can have behavior problems as much as the bold, dominant dog, if not moreso. Quiet, timid dogs can feel fearful and overwhelmed in some situations.
Carla
p.s. -- Can someone tell me why my post asking why the OP was exercising his dog MORE in very hot humid weather was taken down? Not that it had anything to do with the behavior problem, but that it is just downright dangerous for a dog... |
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Sagebrush
Omega Dog
Joined: 11 Jan 2008
Posts: 159
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| Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:35 am Post subject: |
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| northern01 wrote: |
| She is actually a very timid quiet dog. I am in the process of talking to a behavior specialist and will see how that works. From now on if and when we do go into public areas we will put her haltie on her. And give her lots of praise. |
Be careful that you don't praise or reassure her for being timid!
Carla |
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Skylar
Pack Members
Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 343
Location: Everywhere
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| Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:40 am Post subject: |
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| I agree.. |
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Skylar
Pack Members
Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 343
Location: Everywhere
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| Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:42 am Post subject: |
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what is OP? i am trying to figure out what you mean...  |
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